It only rains on good days
by Rekino and Scythe
Summary: A picnic, a roller-coaster and a ride on the Ferris Wheel … what could possibly go wrong? Our favourite black-haired Soul Reaper and Shinigami-in-training pay a visit to the fair. [contains fluff and is shamelessly RukiaxIchigo]


**Title: **It only rains on good days

**Chapter: **1 – Of Picnics and Juice Cartons

**Author: **Scythe

**Warnings: **Fluffiness!

**Pairings: **Ichigo x Rukia

**Disclaimer: **Belongs to Kubo-sensei and familiar characters mentioned herein are subjected to the label called; 'borrowing'.

**Summary: **A picnic, a roller-coaster and a ride on the Ferris Wheel … what could possibly go wrong? Our favourite black-haired Soul Reaper and Shinigami-in-training pay a visit to the fair. contains fluff and is shamelessly RukiaxIchigo

* * *

"Hey, Ichigo, are we there yet?"

Ichigo's eyebrow twitched.

"No," he said, his voice shaking slightly. "We are not there yet."

"Oh. Ok."

The small dark-haired girl behind him was silent for a few minutes.

"So how long will it take?" she piped up. Ichigo's fists shook.

"Almost there," he muttered, more to himself than to his companion, his brows knitted together. How the hell could she be so annoying?

"And what are we doing there again?"

Ichigo spun around, the plastic bag in his hand barely missing her head.

"We're having a picnic, ok?" he stormed. "Bloody hell – how many times to I have to tell you, Rukia?"

Rukia flushed, stepping up to argue with him. "Well, _excuse_ me for forgetting! I happen to notice that you don't even remember your classmates' names!"

He scowled. "That's different! They don't matter to me!"

"Still, it would be seen as _common courtesy_ to remember the names of people you see every day! Especially as they all seem to remember _yours_!"

"So what?" Ichigo hissed. "It's only because of the hair – you always remember the name of the troublemaker with the orange hair!"

Rukia opened her mouth to say something, changed her mind, and closed it. She fell back into pace behind him.

"Are we there yet?" she moaned after a while. "My feet are starting to hurt!"

"Yes, ok?" Ichigo said, his shoulders slumping. "_Yes_. We are finally there."

Rukia raced around Ichigo's tall form, and just stood there, her mouth open. The pair of them were at the crest of a hill, looking down at one of the many fairs that came to town ever few months or so. Ichigo took personal delight in Rukia's reaction; first she just stood there dumbly, and then she clapped her hands to her mouth in excitement and began jumping around.

"Oh my god!" she asked, her eyes lit up and taking in every sight. She leaned in closer to Ichigo, and then whispered, "_What exactly is it?_"

Ichigo smiled, and shook his head. "A fair," he said. "I thought you'd like it."

Rukia turned on him. "_Like_ it?" she squealed. "I _love_ it!"

If she had been one of his sisters, she would have thrown her arms around his waist, but Ichigo was half-thankful she didn't, even though she looked as though she wanted to. Instead she turned, and began making her way down the hill towards the entrance.

"Eh," Ichigo said, "where are you going?"

Rukia stopped, and looked at him in confusion.

"To the fair?" she said, pointing to illustrate. Ichigo shook his head, holding up the aforementioned plastic bag, and pointed to it.

"Picnic," he said, taking a small blanket from the plastic bag and laying it down on the ground. Immediately her curiosity was peaked – she stalked over towards him, looking at what he was doing with some fascination.

Slowly he set down the lunchboxes that Yuzu had packed for them, and then he grabbed the chopsticks and the juice cartons. Flushing, he remembered what Karin had had to say about the entire thing.

* * *

"_So, ah, you're going out, eh," she said slowly, adjusting her baseball cap. Ichigo looked at her squarely._

"_Yeah," he said. "I am."_

_Yuzu, more naive than Karin, looking between the two, frowning as she packed the lunchboxes with rice and steaming teriyaki chicken._

"_But…aren't you going out with a school friend to the fair?" she asked, placing the lids on the lunchboxes. "I hope he likes my chicken," she added, beaming. Karin looked at her brother._

" '_He', eh," she said, cocking an eyebrow. "I hope _he_ likes the chicken too."_

_Ichigo reddened, shaking his head and promising to pay her back later. Yuzu was still confused._

"_But…the chicken tastes really nice!" she cried. Karin smirked, and patted her arm._

"_Don't worry, Yuzu. I'm sure Ichigo's…ah…_friend_ will enjoy the chicken," she said. Catching Ichigo's eyes, she winked. "A _lot._"_

* * *

Shaking himself out of his reverie, he looked up at Rukia, who was still standing.

"You going to sit down or are you going to eat standing up?" he said, shifting to make more room for her. She looked a little surprised, and then plonked herself down next to him.

"Your sister made this?" she asked as Ichigo passed her a box. He nodded, not saying a thing as he cracked open the lid. Steam lifted up into the air, and silently he dipped his chopsticks into it, and began to eat. Rukia watched him for a while, and then followed suit.

"So is this all you do on a picnic?" she asked. Ichigo looked up at her to answer, but instead nearly choked on his food. Rukia looked at him oddly.

"Uh…Ichigo?" she asked. He held up his hand, shook his head, and began to cough madly. She just sat there, bewildered, not doing anything. When his choking-cum-coughing fit had resided, he looked up, his face red. Smirking at her, he grabbed a serviette and reached out a hand, brushing away the rice and chicken bits that were scattered around her mouth. Even he, with his almost non-existent powers of perception, did not miss the pink that tinged her cheeks.

"Yeah, pretty much," he then said, returning with a quick grin to his food. Rukia returned to her food as well.

"So why have a picnic right now?" she asked. Ichigo shrugged.

"Why not?" he said. She looked at him blankly. He sighed. "Well, we're going to the fair, right? I figured we'd eat beforehand."

She frowned beforehand. "…Why not at a restaurant then?"

He rolled his eyes, and patted his pockets. "No money," he said. "And besides – you've been to a restaurant before. Have you ever been on a picnic?"

She wrinkled her nose. "No…but…"

"Yes, well, see, there's my reasoning," he said. She shook her head, and returned to her food.

She was quiet for most of the remaining time that she ate. When she was done, she folded her serviette neatly and packed away the chopsticks and the lunchbox, and then reached for her juice carton. And inwardly groaned.

She could very well remember the last incident she'd had with one of these. She'd resorted to ripping the top off and messily drinking what liquid was left inside. Ichigo has said something about poking a straw into it, but she didn't see how the small, spindly straw she held in her hand was going to be able to poke through the heavy cardboard.

She began to try and find places where she could poke the straw. How the hell was she supposed to do this! Sighing in exasperation, she scowled and put down the straw, preparing to rip the top off again.

Suddenly a much larger hand enveloped hers, and she looked up, startled, as Ichigo silently took the juice carton from her hands and poked the straw inside, making sure she could see exactly where he pushed it in. Her mouth formed a small 'o', and she took her drink back with a grin.

They finished eating in silence, Rukia still smiling, and when they were done Ichigo wrapped everything up in the picnic blanket and put it in the plastic bag. He stood up, waited for Rukia to do the same, and then began to descend the slope of the hill towards the fair.

When they were almost at the entrance, on the verge of being swallowed up by a huge crowd dying to get in, Rukia touched Ichigo's arm.

"…Thank you," she said quietly. Ichigo looked at her oddly.

"For what?"

"For the picnic," she said. "It was…a good experience."

He turned away from her, intent on not letting her see the smile on his face, but she could tell. With a grin, she followed him into the fair, and soon they were swallowed up by the crowd.

**The end.**

* * *

_**Scythe:** A short story inspired by a visit me and **Rekino** paid to the **Sydney Royal Easter Show**. Actually a very funny visit…we were sitting there, pointing at random things and going 'that'd make a great story!' So here it is, in all its collaborative glory. And HAH! It's finished! Mwahahahahaha!_

_Well, ok. It's only sort of finished. **Rekino**, my partner-in-crime for this thing, is doing the next scene. And, quite possibly, the scene after that._

_**Rekino: **(grins manically) Very nice start huh? Scythe is going to impress us all by doing both the beginning and the ending while I try to keep you alive during the middle. I hope you enjoyed this! Coz I did! Next chapter will be brought to you by moi! _

_ANYWAY, R&R people. Otherwise I will send our favourite little Sweartoad, **Junko** after you! And you don't want **Junko** after you… insert evil laughter here ... Not that I'm evil or anything………_


End file.
